Malik Aziz: Body Cameras Useful But Won't 'Tell Entire Story'

Body cameras on police officers is a needed step, but they won't solve all the problems facing police departments across the country, says Malik Aziz of the National Black Police Association.

"Body cameras are needed and they can help resolve a lot of the issues, but I would caution anyone to think that would fix every single problem," Aziz, who serves as the national chairman and executive director of the organization, told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" on Newsmax TV Tuesday.

President Barack Obama proposed Monday that Congress approve a package to help police departments improve their standing in communities, which includes $74 million for body cameras for police officers. The proposal is in response to the St. Louis County grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for shooting black teenager Michael Brown.

"If Officer Wilson had a body camera, we may not be talking right here today," he said.

"Tasers, body cameras, in-car cameras, useful technology in the new policing age, yes, it's beneficial, but do not think for one instance that body cameras would tell an entire story of the next incident that happens on video," he explained.

"It just won't occur, but that small little hesitation may help an officer think through something and revert back to his training."

According to Aziz, "99 percent of our officers do a great job every day, 800,000 of us protect these streets, and one percent of us do something that's wrong."

Story continues below video

Unfortunately, "that seems to be magnified every time some incident happens," he added.

In order for there to be significant change in the racial makeup of police departments across the country as well as police departments playing a role in improving the communities in which they work and serve, there must be support from the community, the chairman of the National Black Police Association argues.

"There's no such thing as police officers or police departments guiding the direction of your community," Aziz told Newsmax.

"It's a 50/50 partnership and you give and you get, so a community has to step up and meet you 50 percent of the way and help you resolve the issues that are in their neighborhood," he explained.

"Most studies say that in black communities they desire more police officers to cut back crime," Aziz said. "If those studies are correct then we have to have that working partnership with each other."